(HIM ●) During our experiences here in Japan we have coined a name for the way most Japanese operate in general, but most apparently in the urban environment. We call it the Japanese Follower Mentality. If you look closely enough on Japanese streets and modern culture you will find it everywhere around you. Japanese entertainment, fashion, and business, its everywhere. A great example is idol groups such as AKB 48. Where on earth do you find people following so called idol groups just because everybody else is following them? Where does fashion come and go like seasons based on popular consensus as fast as in Japan? Everybody follows everybody else and it seems that there is a follower mentality among the masses which affects everybody. For the media, the Japanese masses as a whole could be considered as a living breathing organism!

Initially we saw this interesting behavior on the streets. If there is a street performer without an audience, nobody will join in unless there is an innovator who stands by for the show, most of the times this is the case. In Japan you will see lines that span street blocks in length for a food stall but most of the times we wonder, do these people even know what they are lining up for or are they just lining up because they saw a long line to start with, which might indicate that there is something good at the end of the line.

This is something good to think about, how does this mentality affect business and marketing in Japan?

(HIM ●) We would like to thank everybody, friends, family and other followers that have been reading our blog for the past two months. Even though our journey is coming to an end soon, we are planning to continue our blog in Boston by keeping up with Japanese culture and happenings as well as life in Boston. Please stay tune!

(Him)●I have noticed how much Japanese food and entertainment places use the term "all you can...." eat, drink or anything for their businesses. Whether it is at a restaurant, karaoke, izakaya or any place you could think of. It is especially great when you are going out with a group of friends as you don't have to worry about piling up the tab! At least for the amount of time you purchased the all you can eat or drink plan.

All you can drink or eat = a good time out!

Why do you think they don't have these types of all you can drink plans in the US? I would say people go ballistic and aggressive when they drink in the US so they would end up fighting or destroying the place. Japanese people in general are very peaceful and happy when they drink, I am sure there are exceptions, but for the most part this is the case. Or maybe it is a lot easier and cheaper to get a business liquor license in Japan.

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(Him)●Today we went to Sea Paradise. I have only been to a few aquariums before, but this one was way better than the others. More than just an aquarium, a big one at that, Sea Paradise also sports a few interesting rides which unfortunately we did not go on but I had the chance to capture one on film, below see Blue Fall. Just watching it gave me a feeling of vertigo :/ The ride seems to keep accelerating to the last moment then it breaks. The ride is advertised as the tallest free fall tower in Japan, that claim might not still be true as the place has a few years under it's belt.

Talking about deadly rides. I read about a new ride in Fuji-Q, an amusement park near Mt.Fuji. We haven't gone there yet...Check out this video from the ride...it goes more than 90 degrees straight down, in my terms, it goes negative.

Once I figure things out with Flickr I will upload some images in our new Images page from our trip to Sea Paradise.

(Him)●I had never envisioned TV being so entertaining and informative, especially during commercials. I don't think it's worth paying for the trash that airs in the US so like many of our close friends, we don't have cable TV back in Boston. Here in Japan, I would pay just to see the commercials! Even though I do not understand what they are saying in the commercials, at any given time I would say that the majority of the commercials here are at par or even better than any Super Bowl commercial.

Here are some of the things I have had to put up with... :D

The first video is a commercial from a company called Kewpie which sells food products. The creepy baby is their logo. The second video is from SoftBank a cellphone carrier company equivalent to Verizon or ATT in the US. In the commercial they are promoting a family plan, they have multiple episodes in the series of commercials. The dog is the father of the family but somehow he got turned into a dog in an earlier episode. In this episode he mixes up families because the lights were off due to the energy conservation in Japan.

●Shortly after investing in the Sony Alpha DSLR system by purchasing the Sony A55 camera, I decided I wanted more, something was certainly missing. Based on the heavy bias of Kai in DigitalrevTV about expensive equipment and the great images I have been seeing in various online sources, I felt the Sony camera was just not enough for me. After experiencing the solid built and what the more beefy and expensive cameras had to offer in the local Best Buy I had to upgrade to a better system. A few eBay transactions later, countless visits to my PayPal account and a visit to B&H Photo Video online store, I had gotten rid of my old system and decided to invest in a Canon EOS system with the purchase of a Canon 7D.

This purchase was not as easy as I just made it sound. Selling all of the accessories I had for my Sony system and upgrading to a different system was quite hard and time consuming. Looking back on the amount of research I made, I have seen not less than ALL of Marc Wallace's seventy something "Digital Photography 1 on 1," episodes on YouTube's AdoramaTV channel which I'm absolutely addicted to. As an amateur photographer I also found myself in the front line of the Nikon VS Canon wars which ultimately led me to understand that a photographer is not defined by his or her gear, but by his or her work and no matter what brand of gear I choose the gear is only a tool to aid me reach my goals which in most cases, both systems are excellent at. What gear you choose also depends on your style of photography, and what feels best for you. After watching "Nikon d300s vs Canon 7d," one of Kai's more serous product reviews on DigitalRevTV I was able to understand this rather obvious concept a bit better. Since I had no experience with either system I had to try them out in person. What hit home for me, was able to see and feel the cameras in person. When I did, Canon just felt much better in my hands. After that, off I went to the B&H Photo Video website, those guys are awesome, I highly recommend doing business with them.